An ocean of thoughts,earlier this blog was named as "Indian Sociology..my burst and commentary". This is because it was meant to express myself on some general observations clicking my mind about my milieu...the Indian milieu.
Subsequently a realisation dawned on that it was surging more as some breaking magma within . Arguments gave the heat to this molten hot matter which is otherwise there in each of us.
Hence the renaming.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Point of Inflection of Indian Society

Point of Inflection, in mathematics, I recall, is the point at which a graph changes its tendency, although it continues to proceed along.
For example, in a graph of y=Sin(x), the inflection occurs at Sin(180 deg) and Sin(90 deg), when the upward rising graph takes a dip, alternately.
The characteristics of this point is that it reflects the maximum valve that the curve can attain in it's that leg of motion.

Here, I was thinking about what are some Inflections of our society which seem not-conforming to what our original , i.e, the starting motion was.
1. We called ourselves the leaders of spirituality in the world. Our philosophy was well developed. Our universities of Nalanda and Tuxshila are supposedly the first of the Universities founded. Our knowledge was once supreme.That makes me question as to how did we become one of the leading corrupt nations in the world.
The abundant source of our knowledge was primarily researched and owned by people, whom we would call the Brahmins. They were the keepers of our faith, and unlike the west where Aristotle and Socrates had a very sad treatment meted out to them by the society, the Brahmins, in our case were and even today the highest "caste" of people. and today they are as much prone to corruption as any other.?
What happened in between which created the Point of Inflection leading to all this?? I quite often think about this within myself.
The custodians of our history very well know provide a factual profile of the events which happened during course of time, but the impact of those events on the overall evolution of our society is left to all us to conclude our reasoning.
The history of invasions by the Greeks, Muslims, Moghuls, British and their assimilation in our culture has created some of its own man-made confusions in our thinking.
Looking at the massive support that Anna Hazare is drawing in his campaign, it is again baffling that when everybody-- from common man, private organisations, government authorities, all minister, -- is supporting him -- then who is it who is being a hypocrite?!?

how did the forward moving graph of intellectual growth of India, although continued to proceed forward but hit its point of inflection whereby it's tendency suffered a change?

The social viewpoint,as described by this researcher in his dissertation - Combating Corruption in India, Role of Civil Society -- for World Congress of Political Science Association (July 2000, Quebec City, Canada), Mr Sunil Sondhi, Reader in Political Science in University of Delhi, as impressed me a great deal. There is a social recognition given to the corrupt as well, and same or more , but not less, than a honest man (page 12 and 13 of the report).

I have an opinion that the modus operandi for corruption to come about despite all that philosophical achievements and spiritual advancements, is this:-
There is vast plurality in the cross section profile of our society. The Islamic rulers were primarily military styled people , with a clear support for their religion only. They perhaps accorded recognition to Brahminism as a caste, and not a status, as it was earlier being perceived with the Vedic society. Overtime, with the mingling of Vedic culture and Islamic culture, as the two started becoming friends with each other, the overall ethos were put at some confusion mark, perhaps to suit the convenience of both friends from different viewpoint. Maybe the Muslim ruler adjusted his Islamic beliefs to help his hindu friend and maybe the Hindu friend forgot the islamic suppression to gain closeness with the incumbent ruler.
Corruption was sown with the fabric of our society. (well, i strictly don't intend to put any of the two people from two religions to be anyway responsible for it and plainly because neither of them is the cause. It is the way nature works and perhaps may again work somewhere deep in future. Thus my only wish is understand the mechanism of it by being objective to figure out how 'adjustments' lead to corruption).
Obviously such gainful friendships would have troubled a lot of followers of both the groups. A servient hindu would see his high status friend to be enjoying from the apparently in-agreeable friendship; and so would the other muslims be perceiving about his ruler.
Lessons of how and why to keep closer to the people in power were learnt at large by the society. The knowledge of brahmin, who have over course of time become land-owning from a simple preacher and alms-surviving renounced person, was modified. Spirituality become only a course of talk, to be delivered to another receiver, with no or less practical applications. The power ethos of our society were carved out, which only dictated-- to be in power and/or to serve those in power.
Otherwise, it is plain to note that neither the muslims are naturally so corrupt, as in Gulf states, nor are the hindu people , as described in their vedic beliefs. But the sum total of the two is definitely not so. Like the case of water , forming from its core elements hydrogen and oxygen.
The culture continued to the british era, where both the people adopted and learned to serve the british. And once they are gone, here we are , serving our new powerful people, our new masters.
That might perhaps explain how the Point of Inflection came about.